Robinson Crusoe Display

Historical narratives can be tough for kids to comprehend as they are written in an old-fashioned style and use vocabulary that has seized to exist. By breaking them down and analysing them bit by bit, children can be exposed to powerful pieces of writing that have shaped the world of literature. It is impressive to see how well children respond to them, once they have gained concrete understanding.

We looked at an extract from Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe’s novel 1719, and answered some comprehension questions, to aid understanding of the structure and meaning of the text. Once children took ownership of it, identified howDaniel Defoe’s long sentences mirrored the endless waves and the out-of-breath feeling Robinson Crusoe would have had toiling amongst the waves, the task was assigned. Their task was to continue the extract for the next five minutes of the story, using as many phrases as possible to describe what it was like for Robinson Crusoe once his feet touched the ground. They were allowed to use some words and phrases from other historical narratives we had read, following some of Pie Corbett’s Talk4Writing strategies, and their writing hit the roof!